Palau, Sun Dancer II Liveaboard, 1999
Author: Stephanie Mills

After a year of planning and anticipation, of excited phone calls back and forth, of dreams of renewing acquaintances with old friends and diving the beautiful waters of Micronesia…..it was finally here! Time to go to Palau! I can tell you up front that there is no way I can do justice to this trip in this report but I'll sure do my best! The incredible time began….

The 3 Musketeers Arrive

I met Jeff and Walker a year ago on the "Wave Dancer" in Belize and we struck up an instant friendship that has continued through phone calls and emails since we live in different parts of the country. Jeff on the West coast, me in the Midwest and Walker in the Big Apple. We met up in the Guam airport and it was really good to see each other after all that time! Finally…..we were here and on our way to Palau!

Palau Pacific

If you could describe paradise, it would probably look like this place! White sand beaches, swaying palms, soft warm breezes, water in multi-shades of blue, and the hotel tucked away amid tropical plants and trees…just beautiful! Our rooms were supposedly gardenview but both of them looked right out on the beach and ocean with a direct path conveniently leading to the thatched roof bar! Handy when one has a craving for something rummy- an urge that often hits when one is exposed to tropical weather! The restaurant was open air and at night, there was the usual array of entertainment - Polynesian dancers, strolling musicians, a skinny-dipping wedding party - very enjoyable. And there is a lot to do at the resort besides languish on the beach (a prime activity!). We rented kayaks to explore the beautiful coastline (and because the 3 of us tend to get a little competitive- to race across the lagoon). On one outing, Jeff found some pieces of turtle shell and we gave it a proper burial at sea complete with a moment of silence so the diving gods would be happy (and this was before rum!) You can also still see bunkers and weaponry from the war which is pretty interesting. Snorkeling was fantastic! Right in front of PPR you can see rainbow wrasses, butterflyfish, parrotfish, damsels, blennies, angels, sea stars, pipefish and giant clams (there's one at least 3' across because we had a contest , of course, to see who could find the biggest one!) and more. On the grounds there is an orchid greenhouse which is worth visiting, and a big pond with rays , sea stars and lots of tropical fish. You could go to the PPR and be perfectly content not to leave the grounds for your entire visit. UNLESS, you came to dive…….

Sun Dancer II

On Sunday afternoon, we boarded the "Sun Dancer II" with our group of 10 comprised of people that Jeff and Walker had met on previous dive trips: Greg and Karen from Florida, Dewayne and Ryck from Colorado , Richard from North Carolina and Jeff and Glenn from Arizona. We were joined by a group of 6 from Florida: Hutch and Sally, Bill and Judy, Cliff and Grady, a dive shop owner, Brad, from Hawaii, and a couple, Jim and Judie from California who were on their - get this! - 27th Peter Hughes trip!!! And their 8th to Palau! A very diverse group, the 19 of us had a great time together which makes life on a liveaboard much more pleasant and interesting. The "Sun Dancer II" is a beautiful vessel and every bit as sleek and elegant as she appears in pictures. Rooms are spacious (especially mine since I had no roommate) , dive deck is big (although it didn't matter since we dove from tenders), (2) camera tables, showers, gear rinse tanks, huge sundeck and the salon area where we had meals and hung out was large and comfortable. Thanks to Rusty, the engineer, everything is in great working order and the engine room is spotless (a few of us took a tour and it's unbelievable the amount of mechanical equipment that has to be kept in order. AND, Detroit Diesel engines - YAY!)

Crew

There were 10 crew members: Captain Frank, his wife, Jessica who was the magician in the kitchen, Sherri and Marilyn the hostesses, Rusty, the engineer, and divemasters Derek, Marcus and his wife, Tanya, Matt (also the photographer) and his lady, Angie. A personable and very capable group. The dive briefings were thorough and informative and covered not only what we could expect in terms of environment and sea life, but safety precautions as well. This is my 3rd Peter Hughes trip and it still never fails to impress me how hard these crews work. It seems literally nonstop yet they were always smiling and willing to lend a hand if needed. At least we had a fun group….I can imagine it gets difficult to be 'up' all the time with a group that just isn't relaxing and having fun.

Diving (underwater 21 hrs. and 15 minutes: 22 dives) and these were my favorite sites:

"Ngedebus Coral Garden" - The first dive is always a favorite and this was a heck of a checkout dive! A gorgeous wall with a profuse growth of soft corals in every color of the rainbow-pink, burgundy, yellow, orange, purple- it was spectacular! This was a relaxing dive where we could just cruise along at leisure and take in the scenery. Saw sharks, clouds of butterfly fish, feather stars, dreaded Titan triggers (I kept my distance)….there was something going on everywhere. What a way to start a trip!

"Peleliu Cut" - My heart still pounds when I think about this dive!!! It was my first experience with big currents and the site's reputation had preceded it. Peleliu is the site where some have gone and not come back and it was obvious to see how that could happen. Conditions aren't always right to dive here but one morning, the DMs said we should go for it and most of us did. Surface conditions were wild - large swells that rocked and rolled us out to the site but it was fun riding in the tenders - yee ha! We were apprehensive but excited as we neared Peleliu because no one knew what to expect and we sure didn't want to think about the fact that we'd heard you should take a passport on this dive in case you ended up in the Philippines! We dropped in east of the 'cut' and went down the wall to about 90'. It was a leisurely dive at first so everyone was taking their time , looking at the scenery. As we rounded the cut, the current hit fast and we had seconds to put the reef hooks in and hang on. I settled in a little too close to the edge and so was pounded by upwellings, downcurrents and side currents….felt like a prize fighter getting pummeled back and forth. But the action in the blue was so fascinating I didn't care about anything else. What an adventure!

"Turtle Cove" - Everyone loved this dive. To start we had to go down a very narrow opening into a cavern that opened out at about 60' onto the wall where we dropped down another 20' or so to cruise the wall. It was just gorgeous all covered with soft corals, sponges and sea fans the size of Manhattan. You could just hang back and stare at it. There were a couple sharks swimming leisurely below us, and the usual herds of pyramid butterflies, and a lovely red fish with a blue spot called a 'Square spotted antheas' - really pretty, lots of Moorish Idols, more of those damn triggers and up on top of the wall in a very busy reef, I found the cutest goby called a "Jeweled Goby". It was only about 2" long with a face that only a mother could love. Everybody surface from this dive with big smiles on their faces talking about what a great dive it was!

"New Drop Off" - Whoa Baby!!! What a thrill ride this was!! It was so exciting, I couldn't believe it! Surface conditions were wild again - even more so than the Peleliu ride. We rolled off on the move because there was no way the tender would stay in one spot with the current. We went down to about 60' and started out on a pretty calm dive. It was a leisurely dive at first so my buddy, Richard and I took our usual sweet time , right behind Greg and Karen. The rest of the group had gone ahead and we couldn't really see them as we approached the point. I first noticed sharks start to gather and then felt a slight increase in the current. I reached to get my reef hook and noticed Richard doing the same when I heard what can only be compared to a locomotive approaching. Within seconds, I saw Greg and Karen fly to the top of the wall (about 15' up), and I literally tumbled up after them barely jamming my reef hook into a piece of coral at the edge of the wall to prevent taking off for parts unknown. The 'locomotive' sound that I heard was the current!!!! If you didn't understand the power of the ocean before, you would have no doubt at this point! As I 'flew' in the current, which sounded like thunder in my ears, holding my mask on and my reg in my mouth, I looked around at the rest of the group tethered like buoys across the reef and watching the shark and fish action off the wall. One by one, people released their hooks and sailed into the blue yonder at the speed of light to do their safety stops on the move and wait for the tender. Richard and I stayed til the last minute and were rewarded with (8) sharks, (3) humphead parrots, a shark getting cleaned and a big school of barracudas. When we did surface, we had to be pulled up on the tender at the same time a wave crashed over the back because there was no way you could use the ladder. This dive had a "WOW" factor that was off the charts!!!!

"Chandelier Caves" - The last dive of the trip and really interesting because we went in caves that are still forming and the inside is glittering with limestone and full of huge stalactites. There were (4) caverns you could surface in so the plan was to go into the cave, surface in the first cavern, go back down, surface in the next, etc. There were (6) of us in my group plus Derek, the DM. It was very cool! We got to third cavern (the 4th was really too small for us to all get into) and turned off our lights so we were in pitch black! Eerie! You couldn't see anyone and, we were all quiet so there was nothing to hear. One by one people started leaving, you could see them descend , then turn lights on to get out of the cave. Walker and I were buddies and Dewayne and Ryck were with us. We decided to exit the cave with our lights out. Now before you think we were being careless, I can tell you that the light from the entrance was clearly visible so it wasn't like we were diving blind. Pretty soon, Walker asked Dewayne and Ryck if they were ready to go. No answer…they had already gone! So off we went in the misty darkness…..

I wish I could tell you about the other dives but it would mean writing a novel - suffice it to say, there wasn't a bad one!! Yes, we did the famous "Blue Corner" but the currents were not nearly comparable to Peleliu and New Drop Off. The occupants of Jellyfish lake are deceased (supposedly they'll reinvent themselves at some point) so we didn't do that. We did a wonderful wreck dive called the "Bichu Maru" which was fully penetrable and covered with growth and interesting inhabitants, we sought out and found the elusive Mandarin fish, we saw nudibranchs that looked like brooches, garden eels, lionfish - I can't even begin to cover it.

"End of the Road"

The last day, after Captain Frank took the "Sun Dancer II" through the "Rock Islands" for a fantastic tour, we docked in the marina and sadly cleaned and stowed our gear sharing memories of the week and trying not to think about going home. There was a cocktail party and then a group of us went out to enjoy a great Chinese dinner. When we got back to the boat, it was time to take a few bottles of wine up to the sundeck, pull up a few lounge chairs and drown sorrows and celebrate friendships and good times to come. We got a few hours of sleep and then it was back to the PPR for the day until we left for the airport. Our group was on the plane to Guam together and once we got there, I went on to Tokyo while everyone else flew on to Honolulu for connections. Jeff, Walker and I had to say goodbye which was hard, but the bright spot is…..we're already planning the next trip. Solomon Islands here we come!

I have memories of this trip that will truly last a lifetime…….

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